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High School Shop Class Producing Job Ready Students

WARREN (WWJ) - This is not your dad's high school shop class.

In the shadow of the Chrysler and General Motors Assembly plants in Warren, the  Warren Fitzgerald High School auto shop class is producing amazing results.

WWJ's Marie Osborne reports that about 120 students are admitted to the program each year.

Most will go on to automotive careers after graduation, while a few are hired as apprentice mechanics at local car dealerships.

Principal Carl Shultz said they accept everyone in the program, not just the kids who excel.

"Sometimes a student comes into the program and finds they are gifted at working with their hands," said Shultz.

Senior Thomas Gibson carries a 4.0 average in the program.

"Before I got here, I had no idea how an engine ran. Now I can take one apart and put it back together," Gibson said.

Gibson is currently working in a co-op program with Crest Ford in Centerline.

Instructor Ralph Romain said they don't cut the students any slack.

"We run this like a real auto repair shop.  We work on customers' cars and there are floor bosses to answer to," said Romain.

To raise the stakes, students make repairs on vehicles that belong to teachers and the principal.

And believe it or not, this state-of-the art facility exists in a district where cash is short. Many families have experienced joblessness, many students qualify for free lunches.

But Superintendent Barbara Van Sweden says the district has made a commitment to the program to provide students with the latest technology to enable them to get a head start in the automotive industry.

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